The Six Guns

Chapter Sixteen: The Six Guns

Siran and the rest, with the exception of Vivi, set out to fulfill their roles. Vivi stayed home to watch the shop, but fixed and improved their guns whenever they need it, free of charge. The rest periodically select outposts in the surrounding areas near Balphor and Seeira that The Ly'Lum use, and began destroying outposts and pushing The Ly'Lum out of other countries, without needing to kill any soldiers. Before they knew it, many months had passed, then almost a year came by and it was the middle of fall again. The date was now 2191 AD, October 23rd. In the Omnium Guild, capital town of Omnia, there sat the top 10 magicians, otherwise known as The Mages in a meeting room far from all of the disaster. Their names were Garreth Hood, Paul Teeter, Skylar Demetri, Agatha Besse, John Steichen, Jack Tobin, Amelia Reese, Tory Peterson, Ruby Blackrose, and James Markwood. There, they discussed the recent attacks plotted by the crew.
  "We can no longer try to hide Siran's existence" Markwood says. "But we also can't let people find out who he is. We need to capture him discreetly and we need him alive!"
  "We can put a bounty on their group as a whole" Blackrose says, "and then just tell the public that we don't have enough information to release their official names. We'll release wanted posters of their faces, but not their names, and have the rest of the world hunt them down for us".
  "I agree" Hood says, "we need not to get our hands dirty in this. Siran hasn't displayed any intent on exposing himself to the world".
  "So for now" Reese says, "it'd be better if we try to not make a bigger deal out of this than it should be. That way, no one will know and no one will ask any unnecessary questions".
  "And for the rest of them?" Demetri asks.
"Kill them in front of him, throw them in a pit of fire, hang them, I don't really care" Markwood says, "just get this trash cleaned up immediately".
  "Then we can send ordinance to the higher officials in the military, and have a secret order to dispatch our special forces too" Steichen says. "To really make sure it's done as swiftly as possible".
  "That seems appropriate" Tobin replies. "All in favor?"
  All of The Mages raise their hands and say "Aye" in agreement.
  "Then issue the orders to hunt and capture Siran" Markwood says. "I grant the usage of our special forces for this task. Contact the MTRU, tell them this is a direct order and it takes priority".

  Only days passed after, and news about our crew attacking The Ly'Lum was spread on every news outlet and station. It was online, on the television, in papers, even on alerts during commercial breaks on almost every television station in the nation of Omnia. They all said the same things.
  "New group of outlaws attacking Ly'Lum posts and stations randomly in Seeira and Balphor and the attacks are getting closer to home. It is assumed that it's only a matter of time before they attack civilians, but not much information has been gathered. Reports expose these six people's faces, but little is known about them. Currently, we don't have any names for these terrorists, but they all work together and attack each time using similar methods for each attack. They're all well known for their strange, large and extremely dangerous weapons. Their weapons have caused so much damage, yet stick out so much that people have begun to refer to these outlaws after their guns themselves, calling them The Six Guns. No casualties have been reported from their attacks, but the military warns that their aggression may grow worse and worse as the attacks progress. If anyone has any information they can report about these six people, please report immediately to your nearest police station where we can guarantee your safety".
  "The Six Guns, huh?" Alex says as he sits with the rest of the crew back at Vivi's home in Seeira. "So that's what they're calling us?"
  "It's not very catchy" Rose says. "I don't like it".
  "It does sound kind of stupid" Siran says in agreement.
  "Honestly, who even comes up with these names? I doubt it took them much thought" Holly says.
  "On the bright side" Zia says, changing the subject, "they only posted six of our faces on TV and they believe there's only six of us".
  "You're right" Siran says. "They have no idea about Vivi's involvement.
  "Well for now, let's keep it that way" Vivi says as she brings out all of their guns, after working on improving the guns more. "The less they know about us, the more of an advantage we will have".
  "Agreed" Alex says.
  "Good thing they're all stupid" Finn says.
  "You're stupid, Finn" Vivi says in an unenthusiastic tone.
  "And you're rude" Finn replies.
  Vivi just shrugs and responds "Gotta be something I guess".
  "Being rude is not a goal in life" Finn says.
  "Something's bothering me though" Alex says. "About the whole ordeal of them releasing pictures of our faces and stuff".
  "Yeah, how'd they get our pictures anyways?" Finn asks.
  "They probably got the pictures of our faces from video footage of one of the many places we destroyed" Alex says, "but that's not what bugs me".
  "What is it?" Rose asks.
  "Well, they say they don't have any information on our names and who we are" Alex says, "but doesn't that seem like an obvious lie?"
  "You're right" Holly says.
  "Yeah, they obviously know who I am" Siran says. "That one soldier that came up here and held a gun to Vivi's head knew who I was, so I don't see why the people who are high enough rank in the military to issue an official warning wouldn't know my name".
  "What's more" Alex continues, "they should know me too, since they likely still have documents on my former position in the military, including performance values and every legal document you can think of".
  "I can see why they wouldn't know Rose, Finn or Holly" Zia says, "but I'm pretty sure they have information on everyone who was born into the Mahina clan. I'm a direct descendant of the head of our clan, so I'm sure they should know me too".
  "Like always" Vivi adds, "The Ly'Lum is only up to more fishy business. They obviously have some ulterior motive, so we'll just have to go with the situation for now until we can learn what that motive is".
  "Right" Siran agrees, "and it's likely that they want us to move on to attacking the bases in Omnia"
  "Why do you think that?" Vivi asks.
  "Well, even if we went just to prove them wrong and show that we won't blindly attack civilians, they'll likely be setting up a trap to make us look like worse of a threat than we really are" Siran explains. "That way, even if they failed to stop us in our tracks right there, the whole world would be turned against us easily".
  "Then what should our next move be, cap'n?" Finn asks.
  "Well, to my understanding, we have some unfinished business in Cairo, don't we?" Siran proposed.
  Rose's eyes lit up with excitement. "We can go back to my home?" She asks.
  "Yes, and it would not only help the people in your home town, but it would be beneficial to us as well" Siran says. "We can prove The Ly'Lum wrong, but we don't have to rush them. Instead, we can gain the favor of the rest of the world. If we make it clear that we have a specific target, and share the same interest as people in other countries, then it'd make sense if we help them. Also, if we help them, don't you think that not only would they feel indebted to us, but they'd only feel more hostile towards a country that's forcing its own military power on the rest of the world but somehow having trouble with ONE small group of people?".
  "When you say it like that, it makes them sound kinda pathetic" Finn says.
  "Exactly!" Siran says. "They'll look weak and wide open to attack from all those other people looking for revenge. When The Ly'Lum is being pressured like that, it'll be a breeze finding out their motives, since they'll be making desperate counter measures in the middle of a panic".
  "That's devious" Vivi says, "I like it. Oh, and I almost forgot..." Vivi then shows off the new modifications to the guns for the crew. "Check 'em out! I made all the models collapsible while still remaining as stable as before. This way, you can carry the guns discretely without anyone ever knowing you have them. Good timing too, with those news reports, carrying around those guns will be like waving a flag and telling everyone who you are".
  As The Six Guns crew picks up their guns, they folded each of their guns down to a smaller size. Holly's gun could collapse into a large rectangular shape that's barely larger than her tablet computer. She could fit the tablet safely into her gun now and open it up like a real laptop now, and when she uses a holographic keyboard, the projector will project the keyboard onto the gun that now acts as a case for her tablet. Rose's gun could fit inside of her pocket. Finn's gun could fold down to become a metal satchel, and with a strap on it he could wear it and use it to store thing into also, however he argued that it looked too much like a purse. Alex's gun could fold into a mechanical belt, that actually had no practical functionality, but looked cool. Siran and Zia's pistols didn't need much, but their barrels could fold down to a slightly smaller size, and then could fit into their pockets. After a while of resting, our Six Guns went off, leaving Vivi behind to head for Egypt again. Each of them now carried a thin metal card, with their code etched into them. Siran's card shows the number 9, Vivi 10, Finn Jack, Rose Queen, Alex King, Zia Ace and Holly Joker. They kept these cards on them, as a sort of callsign for each other. As they leave, they visit a few familiar faces. Finn wanted to say goodbye to the homeless people he lived with that now run a kitchen together that they simply just call Kitchen. To their surprise, there was one more oddly familiar face they haven't seen for a long time. There was a tall, skinny woman with short brown hair and with her, there was a little girl, her daughter by her side. She seemed to be getting food as they all left the kitchen, and Siran rushed out before she could notice them leaving.
  "What's wrong?" Finn asks.
  "Doesn't she look familiar to you?" Siran asked Alex.
  "Vaguely, yeah" Alex replies. "Where have a I seen her before?".
  "I think that was the lady who gave us a ride through Omnia before we met Finn" Siran says.
  "Oh yeah, I think her name was... er- umm... Tanya! That was it!" Alex says.
  "Yeah, well" Siran says in a worrisome tone, "if Tanya remembers us, then it's likely she's already reported some of that information to The Ly'Lum isn't it?".
  "You're right" Alex says, "it's best if we don't let her know that we stay here".
  "We never told her our names" Siran says, "but better to be safe than sorry".

  The Six Guns make their long journey to the nearest marina. There, they pay a fee to these people who run a business transporting people and goods across the ocean to Africa. They all board a mid-sized boat and sail off. Upon arriving at Morocco, they board the train again to head east to Egypt and make it back to Cairo finally. When they arrive, the borders were more lax with new people coming inside the country. They didn't see much Ly'Lum activity going on here, but they still noticed that people all over still talked about the fighting going on against The Ly'Lum, the alliance with Israel, and how more Ly'Lum bases south of Cairo were becoming more aggressive. The grip on Cairo by The Ly'Lum has definitely loosened over the past almost year and a half, but the fear of engaging in more warfare against The Ly'Lum was still strong. It was clear to The Six Guns what they must do. The time to galvanize, the time to inspire people to rise into action, to fight for the betterment of their own lives was now.